‘The Ministry of Justice has denied ever promising a benchmark figure for an acceptable maximum public transport travel time for people attending court when it considers court closures. In a letter to House of Commons justice select committee chair Bob Neill MP, permanent secretary Richard Heaton said access to justice was “not just about” court proximity.’

‘The Ministry of Justice shows no sign of backing down over court fee hikes, despite a damning verdict from an influential group of MPs. The Commons justice committee called in June for an overhaul of employment tribunal fees and the scrapping of this year’s increase in the divorce petition fee. The government initially stood firm on the necessity of the fees – and a full response to the committee now suggests that position has not changed.’

‘The Ministry of Justice has dismissed calls to create US-style degrees of murder, ruling out a consultation due to an ‘already full programme’ of reform and legislation. In a letter to the chair of the House of Commons justice committee this week, justice minister Sir Oliver Heald said he did not share concerns that the law needed to be urgently reformed.’

‘A man jailed for 25 years for his role in a drug-smuggling plot has scored a victory over the Ministry of Justice, which has been told it failed to carry out ‘reasonable research’ about imports of kosher food into prisons.’

‘Lower-than-expected court fees from high-value cases and increased demand in the criminal justice system are behind the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) request for £427m extra funding over and above its designated department spending limit for 2015-16, it has emerged.’

‘PowerPoint slides prepared by external counsel for training at the Ministry of Justice were subject to legal professional privilege and did not have to be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) has ruled.’

‘Ministers have ordered an immediate inquiry into allegations that former senior civil servants from the Ministry of Justice have used their Whitehall knowledge and contacts to help private companies secure government contracts worth millions.’

‘The independence of prison inspectors is to be guaranteed following complaints that the former Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, tried to water down their reports by removing criticisms of his approach to penal policy.’

‘Justice minister Dominic Raab and armed forces minister Penny Mordaunt are to chair a working party looking at how to prevent “any malicious or parasitic litigation from being taken against our brave armed forces”, Mr Raab revealed yesterday.’

‘Court fee increases that were hastily introduced to plug a £100m hole in the Ministry of Justice’s budget were based on “hopeless” evidence, according to the most senior civil judge in England and Wales.’